Some years ago whilst out on my bike, a van suddenly passed me and then stopped about 100 - 200m further along the road and right in the middle of the road with the white lines clearly visible under the van. As I approached I had to make a decision to either pass on the nearside or the offside of the van. I chose the offside and as I did so, the driver was making some 'sign language' with his fingers towards me. I decided to stop and investigate. As I walked back to the van, the driver opened his door and almost fell out. I could tell that he was drunk which was shortly confirmed by the smell of his breath.
The engine was still running and I quickly reached into the vehicle and removed the keys from the ignition. The driver immediately protested but was clearly not in any state to do much else. I then put a few metres between himself and myself and phoned the police who arrived within a few minutes. The driver was arrested and taken away. A second police car then arrived and I was required to give a statement after which I was warned about taking the keys from the vehicle. Apparently it is classed as attempted theft.
In my defence, I made it clear that the driver could so easily have driven away and killed someone and I would then have to live with that knowing that I could have made a difference. I would have been happy to have been charged and had my day in Court, however that did not happen.
Would I do the same again? Yes most definitely but what would you do?